Ricardo Carvalho

Ricardo Carvalho was born on May 18, 1978 in Amarante, Portugal. He is a Portuguese soccer player who currently plays defense for Chelsea of the English Premier League. He also is a member of the Portuguese National Team that will be taking part in the 2010 World Cup of Soccer. Portugal is a member of Group G in the World Cup.http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=12668&cc=590161

Carvalho began his career playing for the local Amarente Futbol Clube in his hometown and his on field performance caught the attention of Portuguese soccer powerhouse FC Porto. In 1996 he was signed by FC Porto and played for their junior team. Between 1997 and 2001 he had loan spells at Leça, where he made his professional debut, Vitória de Setúbal and FC Alverca. He spent from 1997 until 2004 as part of FC Porto.http://www.chelseafc.com/page/PlayerProfileDetail/0,,10268~28118,00.html

In the 2002/03 season, Carvalho led Porto to the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Champions League Title. In that tournament he was named the best defender as well. In July 2004, Carvalho was transferred to Chelsea of the English Premier League for a fee of 19.85 million British pounds.http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=12668&cc=5901

Carvalho, arguably the anchor of the Chelsea defense, has had his fair share of injuries so far. He has appeared in 22 contests, tallying no goals and one assist.

On March 24, 2010, Carvalho injured his ankle in a 5-0 win over Portsmouth. He sustained ankle ligament damage that was expected to keep him out at least four weeks. It was stated on April 23, 2010 that he was expected to be out through the end of April due to the injury, leaving Chelsea severely shorthanded on the back line heading into the most crucial stretch of the season.http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=775700&sec=england&cc=5901&campaign=rss&source=soccernethttp://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/mar/25/ricardo-carvalho-chelsea-bare-bones

Carvalho spent the 2008/09 season with Chelsea, and by his own admissions, it was frustrating and his "worst season ever."http://www.chelseafc.com/page/PlayerProfileDetail/0,,10268~28118,00.html

He played in just eleven English Premier League games on the season, totaling one goal and one assist. He sustained a knee injury in September 2008 against Manchester United that cost him a month of action. Then after returning, he played just three more contests before injuring his hamstring, sidelining him again.http://www.chelseafc.com/page/PlayerProfileDetail/0,,10268~28118,00.html

He returned several more times from nagging injuries, but failed to play up to the high level that fans of the club were used to seeing from him on the pitch.